DOES VARIATION IN PUBLIC-HOUSING WAITING LISTS INDUCE INTRAURBAN MOBILITY

Rental assistance is a major part of the welfare package offered to lo w-income households. Unlike entitlement programs such as Aid to Famili es with Dependent Children (AFDC). households must wait to receive hou sing benefits. Researchers have overlooked the potential effect that v ariance in the length of public housing waiting lists may have on intr a-urban mobility rates. While households are typically eligible for th e same housing benefit within a metropolitan area, the difference in t he discounted stream of housing benefits thai a household can expect t o receive may be substantial. Evidence in this paper suggests that int ra-urban mobility is reduced by a small amount in metropolitan areas w hich have higher median waiting times and which have less variation ac ross waiting lists. (C) 1997 Academic Press.